Flathead, Glacier runners toe the line for x-country season

The 2018 cross country season for Flathead and Glacier will be one of reflection, just a little bit until things get rolling, but more importantly, time to move on as well and look ahead once the season takes off.

Hall of Fame coach Paul Jorgensen stepped down last year after a glorious career that spanned 45 years with the Braves and Bravettes. He guided both programs to many state titles and had numerous individual state champions.

His presence will be missed on courses throughout Montana this fall.

On the other side of town, distance standout Annie Hill, a two-time state champion, has graduated after her spectacular career with the Wolfpack.

“She brought the program to a national level,” Glacier coach Jacob Deitz said of Hill.

“That’s an awesome thing for your school. It’s pretty cool to have a national caliber runner like that.”

Hill was third last year at state and placed seventh another year. She is now at the University of Colorado on an athletic scholarship.

“The thing we talked about as a team is that we won’t have another Annie Hill this year,” Deitz said.

“I think it was so easy to lean on Annie to win (in the past). What we do have is a group of girls who are dynamic, strong, they are hungry. Not just the seven, but it will be 15 to 20 on the team pushing everyone a little bit.”

Deitz said the season will give Glacier a “new perspective” on cross country and its program.

“It’s a big year,” Flathead coach Jesse Rumsey said of going without Jorgensen.

“I will miss having Paul to go to for suggestions, input and ideas. He was my coach, so there is a lot of loyalty there.”

Flathead is scheduled to open the season Saturday at the Libby Invitational. Start time is 11 a.m.

Glacier’s first action will be next week at the Cut Bank Invitational. That event is Aug. 31 at 4:15 p.m.

Both coaches and runners have had to work around hazardous air quality conditions recently due to wildfires in Montana and the surrounding states.

“We’re getting use to this after the last few years,” Rumsey said.

“We take it in stride. We get the most out of every outdoor practice that we can, we make practice the priority. So far, outdoors every day luckily. We are prepared to go indoors when the levels are too high.”

For Deitz ...

“It’s hit and miss dealing (with the smoke). We do the best we can. We don’t put the kids at risk, but also make sure we are getting our workouts in, being flexible when we run.”

Flathead

This will be Rumsey’s first year coaching both programs. She has been the girls head coach for the past five years.

“The turnout is good,” she said.

“We have a lot of new, upcoming runners. I’m looking to building the program on all ends, from the bottom up.”

Rumsey has 24 boys, 13 are freshmen, and 17 girls on her rosters.

The boys are led by all-state senior Ben Perrin. He won the 3,200-meter run last spring in track.

“He has put in a ton of miles (this summer),” Rumsey said.

“Building a lot of strength. He’s real ambitious for his senior year.”

He finished sixth last year at state.

The Braves return two other runners who competed at state last fall — junior Keaton Fischer and senior Kyle Calles.

“All three trained real hard in the offseason,” Rumsey said.

“Experienced runners looking to improve their finish from last year at state.”

The Bravettes have all five of last year’s state team — sophomore Tori Noland-Gillespie, senior Sadie Wilson, senior Meaghan Fisher, sophomore Hannah Perrin and senior Hailey Allen — back.

“They are a very tight group of runners,” Rumsey said.

“They trained consistently together. I expect them to challenge each other all season long.”

The Flathead girls were fourth at state in 2017 while the FHS boys were seventh.

Glacier

While Hill is gone, not all is lost. The Wolfpack has some talented athletes coming back.

Aren Alexander, a senior, and Simon Hill, a sophomore, finished ninth and 10th, respectively, at state last fall in Helena.

Seniors Max DeVris, Nash Grafe and Ben Schwaller all have varsity experience.

The Glacier boys were second last year, which ties the best state finish in school history.

“They put in a lot of hard work,” Deitz said of his veterans.

“We have some young boys stepping up to fill in spots. They are on a mission to challenge for the top spot. The boys realize what it takes. We’ll see where it ends up.”

Senior Makenna Kauffman is back for the girls, who have great numbers with 24 out.

Juniors Kinzie Peterson, Aubry Grame and Emma McDonald were also on last year’s state team.